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what's next for hd
sound quality isn't the only advantage to digital radio. broadcasters are developing lots of plans for using its information-embedding
capacities. "the way the system is designed isn't just for radio as you know it today; we anticipate there being a lot of new services on it, because
it's a big data pipe," says ibiquity's jury. "one of the
first is going to be traffic, because you have some big broadcasters that are now working to deliver traffic [reports] over the analog system—like
clear channel, the biggest broadcaster, [which recently] announced that they're
moving that service over to hd radio."

clear channel has in fact recently signed a deal with microsoft to revive the software giant's inno-vative but commercially
unsuccessful ven-ture, the msn direct service. the partnership was announced at
the consumer electronics show (ces) 2007 and will "introduce opportunities
for consumer electronics companies and automotive manufacturers to offer msn direct
content in hd digital radio format on their devices in 2008."

the hd radio industry is gearing to make its mark in 2007—the jump from
novelty to necessity that satellite radio took in 2002. to that end, the hd digital radio alliance is preparing a $250 million advertising campaign to
get the word out about its products. at this year's ces, there were about 40 different hd radio products on display, and evangelists predict quantum growth
in the num-ber of digital radios purchased next year, boldly anticipating a tenfold
increase in 2007. with over 1,100 stations online now, the alliance expects that
number to hit the 2,000 mark this summer. will it be a very digital summer?  next: how hd stacks up against satellite (and your ipod)

Dan Evans is the DIY Analyst for PCMag.com. He has been at the magazine/website for over 10 years and during that tenure has worked on every product team here. When he is not building a PC from scratch he is reviewing laptops, desktops, and videogames. Before coming to PCMag.com he earned a BA in US History at Columbia University and was a member of the oldest collegiate wrestling program in the country. In his spare time he is the co-host of a sports/tech podcast www.thesportscircuit.com....
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